As DC raw food guru and business owner, Khepra, opens a new location, hempburger, he sat down with September Set and reflected on a journey that he describes as the best thing that happened to him. With what began as a lifestyle change focused on health and wellness, Khepra‘s world expanded to include various concepts (culinary arts, astrology, business, spirituality), experiences and possibilities that facilitate him being his best self, and ultimately inspiring others to do the same.

In high school, Khephra started exploring raw food. He heard Dick Gregory around 1991 speak about the fruitarian diet and he made his decision to embrace a lifestyle that made sense to him. His transfer to Howard University from his upstate New York college followed this revelation, where he discovered the raw food restaurant, Delights of the Garden. As he created close bonds with the owners of Delights that continue to this day, he also began learning more about raw foods. He reminisces on this time and recalls that he thought becoming a chef was fate and he continues this journey today.

When he began studying with the creator of raw food, Dr. Aris Latham in Jamaica, he sharpened his craft and from here he became the chef at Sinbab Café where he branched out even further from salads to burgers to lasagna. The entrepreneurial spirit called him and in 2011 he opened Khephra’s Raw Food Juice Bar on H St, NE. His philosophy for the delicious food he has been creating since then and now at hempberger is based on mother nature. “Mother nature is the perfect chef in producing all the elements that go into eating. Raw food chefs are natures only chefs because the food is already well done from the sun, moon, and stars, moving rhythmically in nature so for us to alter it with methods is a violation.” Raw food is more than just eating, it’s a lifestyle and a movement that many in the DC area and around the country live by.  

Khepra is not only creating delicious raw cuisine, but he annually hosts a retreat in Jamaica to continue to promote a healthy lifestyle. At Jackies on the Reef, travelers can detox and reconnect with themselves, the land and of course the food.  He says Jamaica has it’s own “magic” which he is drawn to and wants to share this with his clients that take the trip. We at September Set cannot wait to partake in this journey!

As 2019 fast approaches, Khephra is keeping busy with the new location, hempburger, while working on a new book. The future is full of possibilities and being community minded, he wants to make hempburger a place where families enjoy the ambiance and the food and ensure it is accessible to everyone by keeping prices reasonable. This was evident at the recent launch in the new space, with great food, music and people. As Khepra continues on this path, being an innovator and an artist with food that feeds the soul, we continue to support his business and his vision and we hope you will give raw cuisine a try.

Khepra’s Raw Food Juice Bar is located at 402 H Street, NE WDC

Hempburger is located at 408 H Street, NE WDC

https://kheprasrawfoodjuicebar.com/